Olympics will be ready: Rio organisers

GAMES: Rio Olympics
organisers have countered scathing criticism from Australia's IOC
vice-president John
Coates with an assurance they'll deliver an excellent 2016
Games on time.

With the clock rapidly ticking before the first Olympics in South America in 2016, many
facilities in Rio have yet to be completed because of construction delays and
soaring costs.

Coates
on Tuesday voiced "critical concern" over preparations, saying the
preparations were "the worst I have experienced."

It echoed months of worries from the Olympic
overseeing body.

But the Local Organising Committee (LOC) insisted in a statement they would
deliver their "historic mission" with IOC support, which an IOC
statement said it would provide.

"We have a historic mission: to organize the first Olympic and Paralympic
Games in Brazil and in South America. We are going to achieve this," the
LOC said.

"In 2016, Rio will host excellent Games that will be delivered absolutely
within the agreed timelines and budgets," the LOC said.

The problems and delays had pushed the IOC earlier this month to compile a list
of urgent recommendations, including the creation of three task forces.

But on Tuesday the Switzerland-based IOC issued a statement supporting the Rio
team, saying "a number of recent developments show that things are moving
in the right direction."

"Working together with our partners in Rio, we have put in place a number
of measures to support the Games," said the statement from IOC director of
communications Mark Adams.

Among the measures was the creation of a high level decision-making body that
includes representatives from the IOC, Brazil's government and all key Games
partners.

The LOC insisted "work being undertaken in partnership with the three
levels of government -- federal, state and city -- is delivering
progress."

However, worrying signs remain.

Work at the Olympic
site in Rio's Deodoro district was due to start last year but was now expected
to start in September. And a recent strike by workers at the Barra de Tijuca
district in western Rio, which will host a slew of events, also caused delays.

Beyond construction issues. the city must also work on cleansing
sewage-contaminated water in Guanabara Bay, which is slated to host sailing and
windsurfing vents.

A further embarrassment for Rio has been the closure of the Engenhao stadium,
built just seven years ago and set to host athletics but which has structural
problems with its roof. There, also, repairs are running behind schedule.

Coates'
criticisms echo those leveled at Brazil by FIFA over the World Cup, due to
start in June. Football's governing body spent frustrating months urging the
country to step up the pace of preparations.

With barely six weeks remaining before that event kicks off, work still has to
be completed at four stadiums, and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke
admitted last week that the Sao Paulo venue staging the opening match on June
12 will only be ready "at the last minute."

Nevertheless, city mayor Eduardo Paes said Tuesday Rio would meet its challenge
for the Olympics.

"We must accept the criticism and work hard with great zeal and dedication
to ensure everything is delivered correctly," the G1 news portal quoted
Paes as saying.

Earlier this month, Brazilian authorities said they will spend 24.1 billion
reais ($A11.69 billion) on infrastructure projects of long-term benefit to Rio,
brought forward to coincide with the Games.

A total of 5.6 billion reais is being spent on Games-specific infrastructure
while seven billion reais of private money will go on the tournament's
organization.

Rio won the right to stage the Games in 2009 but inflation and new projects
have helped push up the cost almost a third above initial projections.

Overall total projected spending, infrastructure included, is currently
calculated at 36.7 billion reais ($A17.65 billion) though costs for a number of
projects have yet to be calculated.

The AOC is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, committed to the development of youth and sport. It is our responsibility to select, send and fund Australian Teams to the Olympic Games.

This is achieved by the support of our sponsors, contributions from the Australian Olympic Foundation (AOF), fundraising at corporate events and the backing of State and Territory Governments who donate to our Olympic Team Appeal.

The Australian Olympic Committee thanks all of our partners for their generous support of the Olympic athletes.